Boston Red Sox top prospect Marcelo Mayer promoted to Double-A
According to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, the Boston Red Sox are promoting top prospect Marcelo Mayer to Double-A.
Mayer is slashing .290/.366/.524 with 11 doubles, one triple, and seven home runs in High-A this season. The left-handed hitting shortstop has driven in 34 runs, scored 23 more, and stolen five bases in 35 games.
Mayer's only spent 60 games (243 at-bats) in High-A between 2022 and 2023. And before that, he only had 66 games (252 ABs) in Single-A. To put it simply, he's moving up the system fast.
The 20-year-old (who doesn't turn 21 until December 12) hasn't had any real issues at any level yet. Mayer also enjoyed a power surge in May. He's hit three of his 11 doubles and six of his seven home runs this month.
Plenty of people have been wondering out loud for a few weeks now when Mayer would be promoted. It seemed he was ready for it, but it would also make sense for the Red Sox to want to give him more time in High-A. There really didn't seem to be a "wrong" answer.
It appears Boston felt there was a "right" answer, though. And that was to promote their top prospect.
Mayer has been consistently hitting the ball hard, and his seven home runs are already over halfway to his 2022 total of 13. Even with an injury causing him to miss a week of action, the California native leads the Greenville Drive in home runs and RBI. And that's not a light-hitting lineup.
Boston's farm system is loaded in the middle infielder department. The Portland Sea Dogs already feature Chase Meidroth, Nick Yorke, and Christian Koss. Meanwhile, Ceddanne Rafalea gets at least one start a week at shortstop. Even Tyler McDonough has taken time at shortstop and second base.
We've already seen Matthew Lugo move to third base/outfield to create room. Now expect to see Christian Koss potentially promoted to Triple-A. We might not see McDonough get time at short anymore.
The Red Sox have made it very clear that Marcelo Mayer is going to be a shortstop, and he's looked great there so far. They'll move other people around, but Mayer's not about to get random starts at third or anything like that.
When Marcelo Mayer was selected with the fourth pick in 2020, he was considered the best prospect in the draft. He hasn't shown anything to disprove that yet. The Boston Red Sox have to love what they've gotten from the now Double-A shortstop.